''We were hooked somewhere between the popcorn and the credits,'' Mrs. Bickers said. Thirteen years later, the couple -- members of Kentucky and U.S. canoe associations -- avidly support the sport as a ''healthy, family- oriented'' outdoor activity.

Bickers, 38, a sheet-metal worker, and son, Brian, 15, will put that expertise to use at 9 a.m. Saturday as competitors in Florida's sixth annual Sunshine State Games, competing in an 11-mile marathon on Tampa's Hillsborough River.

The Bickerses moved to Kissimmee from Independence, Ky., two years ago with their four children -- Kim, 18, Dan, 17, Brian, and Letisha, 10.

''Jim came to study at Florida Bible College because we're interested in pursuing missionary work,'' Mrs. Bickers said. As a result, canoe outings ''have been pretty much shoved to the back burner.''

''We semi-retired our canoes in 1981 but, when we learned about the Sunshine State Games, we decided to gets the boats out again,'' Bickers said. For two months, father and son have been practicing daily, guiding a $450 55-pound aluminum canoe through Lake Tohopekaliga. ''The lighter the canoe, the better,'' the senior Bickers said. ''The canoes we once raced were $950 and weighed 23 pounds.''

''The entire family can get into canoe racing,'' Mrs. Bickers said. ''On weekends, the marathon races are held on Saturdays and the family-oriented events on Sundays. Every one of our children has won trophies for their participation. But traveling to the races makes it an expensive sport.''

Mrs. Bickers' enthusiasm has come a long way since her introduction via Deliverance. Before the movie, she wasn't interested in sports.

''After the movie, we bought a canoe with our in-laws and spent every weekend for the next nine years traveling across the United States for races,'' she said.

But interest didn't guarantee proficiency.

''We learned very fast what we didn't know,'' Bickers said. ''There's an art to paddling and steering. Until we learned it, we splashed along the scenic route, zig-zagging down every river we raced on.''

Buoyed by a seventh-place finish among a 48-boat hometown field, Bickers and his brother, Jack, entered the U.S. National Canoe Association championships and floundered across the finish line 31st among the 33 boats that started the 23-mile race.

''Of the two boats we beat, one had two old guys and one of them had a heart attack and the other was manned by two teen-agers and one of them got sick and barfed halfway through the race,'' Bickers said.

''We went to the basics. We learned what canoe racing was all about from top to bottom.''

The highlight of Bickers' canoe-racing experience is a series of USCA national championship races over the next four years. The team placed third in the same race in 1974, was second in '75, and won the '76 championship.

Then, ''we started sliding after '76,'' Bickers said. The team was third in 1977, second in 1978 and out of competition a year later.

Brian said he is looking forward to his first major event. ''He's not as apprehensive about racing as he used to be, but self-confidence comes with practice,'' said his father.